Freightliner vs. Peterbilt

Pinto vs Cadillac

 

You can't look at this like Ford F250 vs Chevy 2500. There are literally hundreds of different powertrain combos available on each truck model. You can park 2 Peterbilt 379's side by side. One could have a 350hp Cummins and the other could have a 625hp Cat. Or they could both have 530 Cummins but one could be putting power through 2.64 rears and the other could have 4.10's.

There is no specific, hard and fast answer to any of your questions.

 

I'm in full agreement with post #3 in this thread. However I think the best thing you can do is contact the closest OEM dealers and ask a salesman for both. Then sit down and figure out who you will buy from.

 

I do well in either one. I had a FLD 120 I ran the hell out of. Go through a alternator every other month. 45 minutes drop in a new one and go. The front end is a bit of a glass jaw, easily knocked out of alignment if you abuse it.

The Pete 379 on the other hand. Loves to mark it's territory. Drip drip drip. Gets a little stiff in winter snows. which isnt a bad thing when things a dancing a little bit on ice. And there is a certain amount of thinking that goes on with the 70 some gauges on two dashboards with half the passenger side taken by a huge fuse box. Everything is easy fix more or less.

Both trucks are beautiful to me. Because that is what I consider ... er.. top class.

Now when you get into today's casterated emssions fluid sloshing tractors that are overbuilt plastic and cannot hardly do anything without dispatcher saying ok? It's not for me.

Let's not leave Kenworth in the cold Give me a nice W900 studio or something. There was a time all three major truck builders did right.

 

Yup.
Just a few of the things that will affect your criteria:
Engine
Trans
Rear end Ratio
Sleeper size
Aero treatments
Jake Brakes
Brake type/brand
Tires
Axles (number and type)
Load weight
Trailer type
Trailer age
Trailer brand
Trailer jankiness
Trailer specs
etc.

 

You build a truck for its specific purpose. No two are alike.

 

I enjoy reading your tales, even if they do challenge reality, like cabovers going 125 mph downhill in Indiana and putting 20 chains on a coil. If you had 1/10 the experience you claim you do, you would recognize the problems with these 2 statements. An alternator is expensive, even doing your own work. I've owned 5 trucks for a total of 10 1/2 years of ownership. I have replaced 2 alternator. 1 because of failure and 1 because a mounting ear broke. Replacing alternator every other month is not normal, why wouldn't you have tried to find out why it was burning through alternator so fast?

Peterbilt of old only had one thing they manufactured that held any kind of fluid and that's the power steering. All other sources of leaks are made by somebody else and it wouldn't matter what kind of truck it is in.

 

You are new to the trucking industry it sounds like ??? Or new to driving in general commercially ? Any experienced professional driver can do well with either it comes down to driver comfort more than anything else. Im currently in a KW T680 and love it !!! I drove a couple Petes and didnt care much for them.